Temperature regulator for internal-combustion engines



y 1949. D. L. MORGAN 2,471,533

TEMPERATURE REGULATOR FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed March 10,1947 SEA ENGINE COOLING JACKET SEA Davp'd L. Molgalo,

aria-mm; g

Patented May 31, 1949 TEMPERATURE REGULATOR FOR INTER- NAL-COMBUSTIONENGINES David L. Morgan, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor toRobertshaw-Fulton Controls Company, a cor"- poration of DelawareApplication March 10, 1947, Serial No. 733,642

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a temperature regulator for the cooling systemof an internal combustion engine of the marine type, the term marineengine being used herein to embrace any suitable internal combustionengine used for propelling boats or comparable vehicles on water whetherfresh or salt.

Temperature regulators have long been used for maintaining apredetermined range of temperature in the cooling medium circulatingthrough the cooling systems of internal combustion engines employed forpropelling land vehicles, but in such systems the same c001ing medium iscirculated through the cooling system over and over again, so that thefunction of the temperature regulator is merely to establish andmaintain within a predetermined range the temperature desired in thewater circulating back and forth into and out of the engine jacket and aradiator associated with the circuit. In the case of marine engines, onthe other hand, the cooling water is taken from the body of water inwhich the boat is disposed, and after circulartion through the enginejacket, it is returned to that body of water, usually after being passedinto heat interchanging relationship with the exhaust pipe of the engineso as to prevent overheating of the latter. As the cooling system mustfunction satisfactorily when the engine is operating at full load whenthe source of water may be of summer temperature, it follows that whenthe engine is operating at less than full load or when the water is atcooler temperatures, the

engine is overcooled because of the passage of excessive quantities ofcooling medium through the engine jacket.

If the temperature of the engine can be kept within closelypredetermined limits, many advantages are obtained in smoother and lessnoisy It is an object of this invention to provide the cooling system ofa marine engine of the internal combustion type with an improved tem-Liv perature regulator which will control the flow closely predeterminedlimits under varying tem-'- peratures of the cooling water, varyingloads on the engine, etc.

Another object of this invention is to provide a temperature regulatorof the type characterizedwhich assures that cooling water is at alltimes flowing in heat interchanging relationship with the exhaust pipeso as to prevent overheating of the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a temperature regulatorof the type characterized which is of relatively simple construction,easily fabricated and installed, and certain in operation.

Other objects will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention is capable of receiving a variety of mechanicalexpressions only one of which is shown on the accompanying drawing, butit is to be expressly understood that the drawing is for purposes ofillustration only, and is not to be construed as a definition of thelimits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims forthat purpose.

Referringin detail to the accompanying drawing, a temperature regulatorembodying the present invention is shownin association with a coolingsystem for a marine engine of the internal combustion type, the engineand cooling system being represented only schematically.

Referring to th drawing, l0 designates the jacket of an internalcombustion engine of any suitable size, character and construction, theexhaust pipe of said engine being designated ll. As usual with marineengines of the internal combustion type, water is withdrawn from thebody of water in which the boat is disposed through an intake pipe 12leading to a pump l3 of any suitable size and characterbutconventionally of such capacity as to provide an adequate circulation ofwater when the engine is operating at full load under'summer conditions.The outlet of the pump is in communication through conduits l4 and I5with the inlet to the engine jacket Ill. Interposed between the conduitsl4 and I5 is a temperature regulator embodying the present invention asnow to be described.

As illustrated, the regulator comprises a housing composed of twosections it and 11 secured together in any suitable way as by aplurality of screws or bolts l 8 passed into or through suitable flangesof said sections. Section l6 of the housing has an inlet opening [9 inassociation with which is secured inany suitable way the outlet end of aconduit 20 that, at its opposite end, is in communication with theoutlet of the engine jacket I0. Section'll of said housing is providedwith a pair of openings 2| and 22, preferably in alignment, inassociationwith which is secured in any suitable way the outlet of theconduit [4 partition separates the interior into a passage 26, whichconnects the openings 2! and 22, and

a chamber 21. Said partition25 is provided with a suitable aperture 28betweenthe passageZfi, and

the chamber 2?, and cooperating with the valve port thus formed is apressure operated valve member shown as composed of a flexible disk 29of any suitable material stationarily retained in,

position at its central portion between a pair of washers 36 on a stem32, having a threaded-extremity 3! on which a lock nut 33 is secured tolock said valve disk in position. Valve disk 29; is preferably made ofan elastic or resilient material-to operate as hereinafter explained,but if preferred a coil spring ofany suitable construction may cooperatewith said valve disk to provide the requisiteresiliency, foroperation asdescribed. Stem 32 has its opposite end 34 provided with threads forreception in-a threaded aperture 35 extendingthrough the outer wall ofthe housing where said stem is adjustably locked in position by a jamnut 35 cooperating with said threaded end34. The. exterior wall of thehousing may be provided with athreaded boss 3? surrounding the aperture36 and an acorn nut 38, may be threadedly mounted orysaid-boss 37 toenclose the jam nut 36, a gasket 39 being preterably interposed betweenthe acorn nut 38 and the wall of the housing; so as to minimizeatedvalve is secured in ,positionbetween the flanges on-the two sectionslii andv I! of the;

housing, and to thisiend said valveis shown as including a disk-likemember which is received in U-shaped grommet 40': secured; between theflanges of thehousing sections I6 and I1, said: grommet being of anysuitable material so asto.

Member fill-isminimize electrolytic corrosion. shown as having a rightangularly extending cir: cular flange 4| surroundinga valve port 42.Se,-

cured to said member 4min anytsuitable way, or

formed integrally therewith,-is a U-shaped strap 43, and mounted on saidstrap is a thermostat 44 having its lateral wall in the form of anexpansible and collapsible corrugated tubular wall or.

bellows, said thermostat havinga stationary end.

wall 45 secured to the base of the strap 43 in any suitable way andhaving amovable end wall 46 to which is secured a valve stem'fl;Mounted.

on said valve stem in any suitable way is acupshaped valve memberpositioned for cooperation with th seat provided bythe extremity of theflange 4! around. port 42 The thermostat 44 is charged with any suitablevolatile fluid so that it will expand, and contract under variations of.

temperature in a manner wellzunderstood inthe art and move the valvemember 48 away fromioiv toward the seat 4|; at predeterminedtemperatures selected for the particular --engine whose cooling systemis to be controlled Valve member:

iii

48 is shown as provided with one or more apertures 49 for a purpose tobe explained, although if preferred the aperture or apertures could beformed in the member 40 or the flange 4!.

By appropriately selecting the size, material and construction of thepressure operated valve 29 saidvalve may be so formed as to providepredetermined flows of cooling fluid from the passage 26 into thechamber 21 for predetermined variations of fluid pressure in the passage26. This range of pressures can be adjusted by moving the stem 32 in theaperture 35, after which the stem can be locked in position by the jamnut 36.

Whenthe engine is in operation and driving the pump l3, water from thebody of water in which theboat is disposed is drawn through pipe l2 anddelivered through conduit l4, passage 26 and conduit Hi to the coolingjacket iii, from which it may flow through the conduit 23 into thechamber 5B in which is disposed the thermostat 44.) When the engine isfirst started the Water so passedthrough the cooling jacket will berelatively cool so that the thermostat 44 will be contracted, holdingthe valve, member 48 on its. seat 4|. I the thermostat 44 willbemaintained owing to the one or more apertures, 49 in the valve member48, said apertures as to size and number being so selected as to obtainthe desired circulation overv the thermostat 44. As the valve member 48is now closed, however, a back pressure will be,

builtvup in passage 26. This back pressure act ing, on the valve member29 willopen the latter proportionately tothe magnitude of the backpressure, so that the water being delivered through conduit l4yby pumpl3e-will largely flow through thenport 28; into th chamber 21, andthencethrough the conduit 24 to the exhaustp pe.

As the temperature; of the cooling medium risesdue to continuedoperation of the engine the temperature of the water flowing throughsham-a ber 50: will be, correspondingly raised until that temperature isreached atwhich, the thermostat 44: is designedsto, initiate-itsexpansion, whereupon any further rise inthe temperature of the waterflowing through, thechamber 50 will; causethe thermostat 44 to expand,opening the valve-- 48,so as-to permit the waterflowing; through the;

engine jacket and chamber- 50 to flow through the port 42 into thechamber 21, and thence throughzthe conduit 24 to the exhaust pipe.

When thereafter the temperature of the water flowingthrough thechamber50 starts to decrease the thermostat 44 will correspondinglycontract'and move the valve-member 48 toward its seat,

proportionately decreasing the flow of waterthrough the engine jacket.

Thereby the temperature of'the water flowing through theengine jacketcan be nicely controlled within predetermined limits selected asdesirable for the particular engine under regula tion. At the same timethe volume of water flowing through the port- 42 predeterminesthe back"pressure existing inthe passage 26 so-that the amount of water flowingthrough the port 28 pastthepressure operated valve 29 is generally ininverse proportionto the quantity of water flowing through the enginejacket. Thereby, irrespective of the loaclonthe engine and thetemperature of thewater being pumped, the-temperature of the water inthe engine jacket may be nicely controlled ,so as :to: be kept .withinpredetermined 'flim-itsyiwhile at ralltimes an adequate.:volume ofHowever, a small circulation over water is flowing through the conduit24 to prevent overheating of the exhaust pipe. The pump may accordinglybe given adequate capacity to afiord proper cooling of the engine underthe most adverse conditions, and even though the pump is therebydelivering a quantity of water in excess of the requirements of theengine cooling system, the portion of the water flowing through theengine jacket is so predetermined as to maintain the desired range oftemperature while all excess water flows through the pressure operatedvalve 29 to the outlet conduit 24 where it is effective in cooling theexhaust pipe.

Thus a temperature regulator having the desired characteristics has beenprovided to maintain the engine temperature with certainty andefficiency within the desired limits notwithstanding wide variations ofload or the temperature of the water available for cooling. At the sametime the device is of relatively simple construction so that it isinexpensive to fabricate and install.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawing hasbeen described with considerable particularity, it is to be expresslyunderstood that the invention is not restricted thereto, as otherembodiments will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, whilechanges may be made in the details of construction, arrangement,proportion, material, etc., without departing from the spirit of thisinvention. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for adefinition of said invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A temperature regulator for the cooling system of an internalcombustion engine of the marine type including an engine jacket and apump for delivering water from an external source to the engine jacketin excess of the requirements of the cooling system under at least someconditions, a housing providing a passage in communication with saidpump and with the inlet of the engine jacket, said housing alsoproviding a chamber in communication with the outlet of the enginejacket and an outlet chamber, an outlet conduit in communication withsaid outlet chamber, a valve port between said passage and said outletchamber, a pressure responsive valve cooperating with said port andoperable under variations in pressure in said passage for deliveringvariable quantities of water to said outlet chamber, a valve portbetween said first named chamber and said outlet chamber, and athermostatically operated valve cooperating with said last named portand responsive to the temperature in said first named chamber.

2. A temperature regulator for the cooling system of an internalcombustion engine of the marine type including an engine jacket and apump for delivering water from an external source to the engine jacketin excess of the requirements of the cooling system under at least someconditions, a housing providing a passage in communication with saidpump and with the inlet of the engine jacket, said housing alsoproviding a chamber in communication with the outlet of the enginejacket and an outlet chamber, an outlet conduit in communication withsaid outlet chamber, a valve port between said passage and said outletchamber, a pressure responsive valve cooperating with said port andoperable under variations in pressure in said passage for deliveringvariable quantities of water to said outlet chamher, a valve portbetween said first named chamber and said outlet chamber, athermostatically operated valve cooperating with said last named 6 portand responsive to the temperature in said first named chamber, and meansin association with said last named valve for maintaining apredetermined fiow of water over said thermostat When saidthermostatically operated valve is closed.

3. A temperature regulator for the cooling system of an internalcombustion engine of the marine type including an engine jacket and apump for delivering water from an external source to the engine jacketin excess of the requirements of the cooling system under at least someconditions, a housing providing a passage in communication with saidpump and with the inlet of the engine jacket, said housing alsoproviding a chamber in communication with the outlet of the enginejacket and an outlet chamber, an outlet conduit in communication withsaid outlet chamber, a valve port between said passage and said outletchamber, a pressure responsive valve cooperating with said port andoperable under variations in pressure in said passage for deliveringvariable quantities of water to said outlet chamber, a valve portbetween said first named chamher and said outlet chamber, athermostatically operated valve cooperating with said last named portand responsive to the temperature in said first named chamber, and meansfor adjusting said pressure responsive valve to predetermine the extentof its opening under variations of pressure in said passage.

4. A temperature regulator for the cooling system of an internalcombustion engine of the marine type including an engine jacket and apump for delivering water from an external source to the engine jacketin excess of the requirements of the cooling system under at least someconditions, a housing providing a passage in communication with saidpump and with the inlet of the engine jacket, said housing alsoproviding a chamber in communication with the outlet of the enginejacket and an outlet chamber, an outlet conduit in communication withsaid outlet chamber, a valve port between said passage and said outletchamber, a pressure responsive valve cooperating with said port andoperable under variations in pressure in said passage for deliveringvariable quantities of water to said outlet chamber, a valve portbetween said first named chamber and said outlet chamber, and athermostatically operated valve cooperating with said last named portand responsive to the temperature in said first named chamber, saidpressure responsive valve including a flexible valve disk cooperatingwith said first named port and variably flexing under variations ofpressure in said passage to predetermine the flow of cooling mediumthrough said port.

5. A temperature regulator for the cooling system of an internalcombustion engine of the marine type including an engine jacket and apump for delivering water from an external source to the engine jacketin excess of the requirements of the cooling system under at least someconditions, a housing providing a passage in communication with saidpump and with the inlet of the engine jacket, said housing alsoproviding a chamber in communication with the outlet of the enginejacket and an outlet chamber, an outlet conduit in communication withsaid outlet chamber for delivering water into heat interchangingrelationship with the exhaust pipe of the engine, a valve port betweensaid passage. and said outlet chamber, a pressure responsive flexiblevalve disk cooperating with said port and operable under variations inpressure in said passage for deliveringvariable quantities of water tosaid outlet chamber, a valve port between said first named chamber andsaid outlet chamber, and a thermostatically operated valve cooperatingwith said last named port and responsive to the temperature in saidfirst named chamber, said thermostatically operated valve predeterminingthe pressure in said passage effective to operate said pressureresponsive valve disk and maintain substantially the same water flowinto heat interchanging relation with said exhaust pipe whether saidthermostatically operated valve is open or closed.

6. A temperature regulator for the cooling system of an internalcombustion engine of the marine type including a housing provided with apassage having an inlet adapted to be connected to a pump and an outletadapted to be connected to the inlet of an engine jacket, said housingalso providing a chamber having an inlet adapted to be connected to theoutlet of the engine jacket and an outlet chamber having an outletadapted to be connected to an outlet conduit, a valve port between saidpassage and said outlet chamber, a,

chamber and operatively connected to said lastnamed valve member.

DAVID L. MORGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile oithis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,765,637 Thompson June 24, 19302,377,028 Nicholas May 29, 1945

